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Reddit
reddit.com › r/pcmasterrace › warning! hwmonitor 1.63 download on the official "cpuid" page is a virus!!!
r/pcmasterrace on Reddit: WARNING! HWMonitor 1.63 Download on the official "cpuid" page is a Virus!!!
April 17, 2026 -

UPDATE from 12th April 2026: This problem is fixed by the owner of the website. It's not a virus anymore.
But this post should be a example for the future to always be careful with downloading software from the internet. Even if you've trusted a website for years, you can still have bad luck like I did and download malicious software. Hackers always find a way to harm others. Unfortunately, such people do exist.

Post from 10th April 2026:

I want to warn you guys.
After a long time, i opening HWMonitor again on my PC.
it is version 1.42
i checked in the application if there was any update and yes.
the application told me to update to 1.63
i clicked on update and the official cpuid page open

i followed the page to download the latest version.
the file was called "HWiNFO_Monitor_Setup.exe"
after the download my Windows Defender instantly detecting a virus.
(because i am often working with programms which triggering the defender i just ignored that) i start the exe and a russian install programm opening...
i was confused and i canceld the installation.

i upload the file on virus total and i got this results:
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/eefc0f986dd3ea376a4a54f80ce0dc3e6491165aefdd7d5d6005da3892ce248f

i delete the exe after it.

a friend of me send me version 1.61 called "hwmonitor_1.61.exe"

no virus detected on my system and on virus total.

i checked the version history.
when i try to download 1.62 then the server gives me this "hwmonitor_1.62.exe"

after that i tried to change the download link from
cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.62.exe
to
cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.63.exe

and the download link was valid and seems be the original link!!! i got "hwmonitor_1.63.exe"
when i upload the "hwmonitor_1.63.exe" on virus total then there is also no virus..

So please guys be very careful what you download on the internet.
Even the most trustworthy websites can contain nasty traps.

If anyone knows how to contact the site operators as quickly as possible, I would be very grateful.

I saw that there's a contact form on the website...

But after what happened, I'm reluctant to enter my data like my email address on the website.

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/pcmasterrace › is hwmonitor safe?
r/pcmasterrace on Reddit: Is HWMonitor safe?
May 19, 2020 -

I recently had a computer crash, it is insanely hot outside, I think my computer crashed due to overheating, and i wanted a program to monitor that. I've looked this up a couple times and I've seen HWMonitor multiple times, but is it a safe non-virus program?

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/amdhelp › do not download hwmonitor, cpu-z and other softwares hosted by cpuid website
r/AMDHelp on Reddit: DO NOT DOWNLOAD HWMonitor, CPU-Z AND OTHER SOFTWARES HOSTED BY CPUID WEBSITE
April 10, 2026 -

Update April 10, 11:38 AM (UTC) : Might be fixed, would recommend holding off for now from downloading.

ALERT: The CPUID website that hosts HWMonitor, CPU-Z, and other software, has been hacked and was redirecting to infected installers; this also affected updates made through both software.

Thought of posting this especially since people come here to get help.
Unsure of which relevant subreddits to post so please spread especially if confirmed.

Link to story here(not affiliated with the person who made the story):

TWITTER:

https://x.com/renan_maniero/status/2042422634101583978

REDDIT:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1sh4e5l/warning_hwmonitor_163_download_on_the_official/

Edit:

Taken from the subreddit post:

They added a statement:

Hi,

Investigations are still ongoing, but it appears that a secondary feature (basically a side API) was compromised for approximately six hours between April 9 and April 10, causing the main website to randomly display malicious links (our signed original files were not compromised). The breach was found and has since been fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience. I did my best to fix that mess as soon as possible :-/

So if you downloaded it before April 9th then you are fine... (me too phew)

It's good idea to check the digital signature before running anything from now on.

from u/siwan1995

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/pcmasterrace › regarding the current situation of hw monitor
r/pcmasterrace on Reddit: Regarding the current situation of HW Monitor
April 15, 2026 -

We’ve all recently heard about the issue with HWMonitor, where several versions were reportedly compromised and had malware injected into them. Unfortunately, I haven’t been following the situation closely, and with the conflicting information online, I’m not sure what’s accurate and what isn’t.

Some people say the issue is specifically with version 1.63, while others claim that all versions from 1.42 up to 1.63 are affected. I’m currently using version 1.59 is this version also affected?

Also, is this issue limited to HWMonitor only, or does it involve GPU-Z as well? I’m currently using version 2.67.0 of GPU-Z.

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/pcmasterrace › is hwmonitor safe?
Is HWMONITOR safe? : r/pcmasterrace
December 23, 2022 - Yeah, it's safe. Official: https://www.hwinfo.com/ ... Sure thing, happy to help! ... He was asking hwmonitor though. But you linked him the better Program so😅🤷‍♂️ ... Oh, whoops! lol Thanks, I didn't even notice that for some reason. XD ... Hwmonitor is weak compared to hwinfo.
Find elsewhere
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TweakTown
tweaktown.com › news › hacking, security & privacy
HWMonitor and CPU-Z download links were infected with malware for 6 hours before devs caught it
April 10, 2026 - Both of the monitoring utilities are now safe to download. The issue first surfaced on Reddit, where users reported that the official download links had been replaced with malware-infected executable files instead of the legitimate installers.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/overclocking › can hwmonitor be trusted and how is this possible?
r/overclocking on Reddit: Can hwmonitor be trusted and how is this possible?
October 27, 2017 -

Hello,

First to say I am complete noob at overclocking so I decided to try to overclock my cpu from asus bios ez overclock. What I saw later after playing pubg shocked me. My question is, is this possible and how? I checked with cpu-z it gives the same current information as hwmonitor.

System: motherboard: asus prime x299- deluxe CPU: i7 7820x GPU: gigabyte 1080 xtreme gaming Ram: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz Computer case: COOLER MASTER MasterBox 5 MSI Edition PCU: 650W cooler master cpu cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock PRO 3

https://i.imgur.com/rPMCh7l.jpg Second screenshots is with restarted pc without opening any game. https://i.imgur.com/YOYdMAz.jpg

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/amd › how reliable is hwmonitor for zen 3 cpu's?
r/Amd on Reddit: How reliable is HWMonitor for Zen 3 CPU's?
April 3, 2021 -

I remember back in the 1st gen Ryzen days HWMonitor used to be way off! How accurate is it nowadays! It always reports my 5950x hitting up to 80c while gaming with an Aorus AIO 360mm rad!

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/overclocking › psa: stop using hwmonitor. use hwinfo64 at all times. refer to effective clocks. that is all.
r/overclocking on Reddit: PSA: STOP USING HWMONITOR. USE HWINFO64 AT ALL TIMES. REFER TO EFFECTIVE CLOCKS. That is all.
February 7, 2023 - Thats because asus board sensors are that way, they do it on icue hwmonitor as well. If you have an asus board your better with using hwinfo64 ... I literally necrod this cause it gave me flash backs to seeing some dude with a badge on barking at a grocery store cashier like she was HIS employee ... my favorite shit is how everyone's a critic now because they watch some other person on youtube half these clowns cant take off the cams on the case.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/buildapc › is open hardware monitor safe? serious.
r/buildapc on Reddit: Is open hardware monitor safe? Serious.
November 18, 2024 -

Looking to find a CPU temp monitor tool for my grandparents Intel pentium g5400 since and adrenaline only supports and hardware, and only shows temps for the wx 4100 I have in it. I know there is a program called cpuz but I'm just looking for something safe and I can put onto it since I'm trying to figure out if the GPUs 85c temp under full load affects the CPU near it. The desktop is a hp slimline that you find at a Walmart as a reference to the desktop if anyone asks why the GPU reaches 85c under full load, HP only made one intake vent on the cover shell, hence the 85c on the wx 4100.

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/linustechtips › warning! hwmonitor 1.63 download on the official "cpuid" page is a virus!!!
r/LinusTechTips on Reddit: WARNING! HWMonitor 1.63 Download on the official "cpuid" page is a Virus!!!
April 17, 2026 -

UPDATE from 12th April 2026: This problem is fixed by the owner of the website. It's not a virus anymore.
But this post should be a example for the future to always be careful with downloading software from the internet. Even if you've trusted a website for years, you can still have bad luck like I did and download malicious software. Hackers always find a way to harm others. Unfortunately, such people do exist.

Post from 10th April 2026:

I want to warn you guys.
After a long time, i opening HWMonitor again on my PC.
it is version 1.42
i checked in the application if there was any update and yes.
the application told me to update to 1.63
i clicked on update and the official cpuid page open

i followed the page to download the latest version.
the file was called "HWiNFO_Monitor_Setup.exe"
after the download my Windows Defender instantly detecting a virus.
(because i am often working with programms which triggering the defender i just ignored that) i start the exe and a russian install programm opening...
i was confused and i canceld the installation.

i upload the file on virus total and i got this results:
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/eefc0f986dd3ea376a4a54f80ce0dc3e6491165aefdd7d5d6005da3892ce248f

i delete the exe after it.

a friend of me send me version 1.61 called "hwmonitor_1.61.exe"

no virus detected on my system and on virus total.

i checked the version history.
when i try to download 1.62 then the server gives me this "hwmonitor_1.62.exe"

after that i tried to change the download link from
cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.62.exe
to
cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.63.exe

and the download link was valid and seems be the original link!!! i got "hwmonitor_1.63.exe"
when i upload the "hwmonitor_1.63.exe" on virus total then there is also no virus..

So please guys be very careful what you download on the internet.
Even the most trustworthy websites can contain nasty traps.

If anyone knows how to contact the site operators as quickly as possible, I would be very grateful.

I saw that there's a contact form on the website...

But after what happened, I'm reluctant to enter my data like my email address on the website.

🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/amdhelp › hwinfo software safe to use still?
hwinfo software safe to use still? : r/AMDHelp
April 11, 2026 - Hwinfo is safe. It was hwmonitor the one that was compromised.
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PCMAG
pcmag.com › home › news › security
Hacker Hijacks Downloads for Popular PC-Monitoring Tools to Serve Malware | PCMag
April 10, 2026 - If you downloaded the free PC-monitoring tools CPU-Z or HWMonitor yesterday, you may have actually installed malware after a hacker briefly hijacked the downloads to deliver a Trojan.